How Original
by archsage328
Summary: These were among the replica's last words before he vanished with a smile. But someone saved him out of pity. This is the tale of someone whose dream will be to become his own person and fight for it. RR/Namine and Roxas/Xion later on. Rated T to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

I've been wanting to try this one for a while, but I never had the opportunity until now. Well, here it is!

Most of the beginning is the actual cutscene in Re:CoM, but I make my own edits

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Axel, Riku Replica, and Xion would have lived.

* * *

Riku Replica: Not bad…real thing.

In the second basement of Castle Oblivion, where Twilight Town has been simulated, the replica of Riku created by Vexen, had suffered a mortal wound against the real Riku. The replica had challenged Riku, believing that by getting rid of Riku, he could finally be something more than a shadow. But he has lost. Riku Replica fell on his back, beginning to fade to darkness.

Riku Replica (RR until further notice): So…it's over. Hmph. Death doesn't frighten me. Good riddance to a phony life. *sigh* My heart…was never real. I'm sure…even what I'm feeling right now is probably all fake.

At hearing the replica lament, the real Riku couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

Riku: What are you feeling?

RR: *pauses in thought* What happens when a fake dies? One…like me? Where will my heart? Will it…disappear?

Riku: It'll go somewhere. Maybe…to the same place as mine.

At this, the replica couldn't help but chuckle, even as he was dying.

RR: Hey…how original. *chuckles* Oh well. I guess…I'm just a faithful replica until the very end. But…that's okay.

And with this, the Riku Replica fades away, though the real Riku swears he can see a shadow of a smile on his face.

Riku silently decides to do the poor guy a favor. He uses an incredible amount of to summon an extra Soul Eater and sticks it in the ground as a memorial. Silently, Riku asks that the replica be able to find peace in the darkness

* * *

(In RR's mind)

RR: Is this death? Surrounded by unending darkness? To sleep in forever? *sigh* I never thought I'd say this, but this seems like a boring place to take a nap.

???: You sound just like him.

RR: What the…Who said that?!?

Suddenly, out of the darkness, there was a glimmer of light. From it, a hand came, pale, but gentle. The replica couldn't tell if he was awake or if this was all in his head, but either way, he found himself reaching for the person's hand.

???: Like you, I am someone's shadow. I also wanted to become someone else, someone separate. But I went about it the wrong way. But despite what I did, I am being given a second chance. And I think…you deserve one, too.

RR would never be able to explain why, but he found himself reaching for the hand, as if he knew that he could trust it, and that it wouldn't bring him pain and betrayal, which he was sick of. Upon grabbing the hand, a warm and very bright light engulfed him. Suddenly, a few memories flashed through his mind. From his creation, to fighting Riku in the lower basements of Castle Oblivion, to Vexen offering him a chance to fight Sora, to Vexen's betrayal and Larxene attacking him. All of his memories were suddenly returning to him, real and fake, and then he woke up in a small white room, to see the face of someone he wasn't expecting in the least to ever see again: Namine.

And thus concludes chapter one. I already have the basic setup for this fanfiction for awhile, so I don't need to brainstorm as much for this story as for my others. I do have some pairings planned, but they won't start for a while. Still, the little free time I am given during the year will always be an issue, as well as my drive to work on this story or any of my others. Starting tomorrow, I have 3 more full days to keep working on fanfiction before *shivers* school resumes. Remember to vote on my polls, because even though this one and my other more recent fanfiction haven't received any votes, some stories I'd be more willing to start if there's a greater demand for them. Or even to continue working on my current stories. So feel free to review, and don't forget to vote and check out my other stories!


	2. Chapter 2

I finally am ready to continue this. While nowhere near as popular as Kamina the Adventurer, this story has gotten some good criticism. I'm going to stop writing in script format, though, for I've gotten more comments on that than anything else. I originally thought it would be easier, but I'm not able to add as much detail this way. I therefore conclude that this experiment with writing styles was a failure. Maybe when I have the time, I'll rewrite all the chapters for all my stories done that way, but in the meantime, onward with the fanfic!

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, I would at least answer this one simple question: WHAT IN THE NAME OF JACK SKELLINGTON HAPPENED TO TRAVERSE TOWN?

To say that the Riku Replica was shocked would be an understatement. Not only had he been saved by Namine, but he had somehow regained all of his memories from before they had been erased. Not that there had been much to start with, for he hadn't been around for very long before being mind wiped, but that was besides the point. But before he could ask any questions about what had just happened, Namine spoke.

"I know you're confused. It's perfectly understandable. But unfortunately, someone is about to arrive and I have to talk to him. It'll take a while, but I answer any of your questions as best I can when I return. After all, you deserve a lot after everything you've been through," Namine spoke calmly and sweetly, reassuring the Riku Replica. The pretty young blonde girl then began to walk towards another room, leaving RR to contemplate everything that had happened thus far.

Firstly, RR realized smugly that both Vexen and Larxene had paid for what they had done to him: Vexen had allowed him to be implanted with false memories with the slightest remorse, then had been eliminated by Axel, while Larxene had beaten him to a pulp twice and was the one to suggest that he have his memory altered in the first place, and Sora had made sure that her malice had come full circle.

"Good riddance to a cold-blooded scientist and a sadistic witch," muttered RR quietly.

Secondly, he realized that other than Namine, no one knew he was here. He hadn't seen Sora since Marluxia's defeat, and Riku thought that he had done him in. Out of all the organizations members stationed here in Castle Oblivion, only Axel was still alive, and after Axel and him had parted ways, Axel said to RR that the rest of the organization didn't even know about his creation and that he'd prefer it if it stayed that way, though why RR didn't know.

Riku Replica had mulling over this for about an hour or so before Namine returned.

"Sorry for the wait," Namine said sweetly. "But I had to speak to the real Riku about something important. Now it time for me to talk to you. As you've probably realized, no one other me knows that you're here right now. Sora, Donald, and Goofy are having their memories restored, but when they wake up, they won't remember this castle at all or anything that happened here. Riku isn't aware that I brought you here after your fight, and since you're still not at full strength, not he nor anyone else will be able to sense your presence. King Mickey may or may not have known about you, but if he did, he only knows what Riku does. Axel was watching the fight between you and Riku in secret and now mostly likely believes that you're dead, and while I can't tell exactly where he is or what he's doing, he doesn't seem to bother coming anywhere near this floor. And…"

"Hold up!" interrupted RR. "There's someone else who knows about me?"

"Yes," replied Namine. "His name is DiZ, and he's been guiding Riku since he arrived here at the castle. DiZ isn't here right now, though, and he won't be back for a while, which means we have some time to talk."

RR sighed with relief. "You had me worried there for a moment."

Namine smiled. "I apologize. And now, for my promise. What questions do you have?"

RR was silent for a moment before responding. "My first question…" he begins. "…is how in Kingdom Hearts did I manage to get all of my memories back?"

Namine answered, "I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to do that. Rearranging memories typically doesn't work like that. But unlike with Sora, I didn't gradually replace your memories. I merely pushed all of your memories so deeply into yourself that it was almost like you had been completely wiped clean. I also didn't edit memories like Sora's of Kairi, I just added my own. To bring back all of your other memories, I merely had to pull them back up."

"Makes about as much sense as anything, really," RR responds. "Am I free to go?"

Namine looks confused. "Huh? You're ready to leave?"

RR answers, "Yeah, pretty much. Still have some things I want to take care of before I go, but I'm hitting the road immediately afterwards. With the second chance you've given me, I'm gonna find myself and a new path to follow. So I'm going to travel from world to world until I do. And once you're done restoring Sora's memories, I'd like it if you would join me."

At this Namine blushed, but why she could not explain. Nobodies aren't supposed to have emotions, but there have been times where she would almost forget. "It will take a lot of time, but once I'm done, I…think I'd love to take you up on that offer…if you're willing to wait."

"Effectively, I'm less existent than any of the nobodies at this point, so I've got no reason to rush," RR reassured her. "Besides, I think I'll check up on you every once in a while, whenever you're alone. However, I'd recommend moving, seeing as how Organization XIII still holds sway over this place."

"Right," responds Namine. "So what are you going to do now, Ri-um…?"

RR comes to Namine's rescue. "If you're afraid of calling me Riku or Riku Replica, don't worry."

At this RR raises his hand, causing R, I, K, and U to suddenly appear in front of him in giant black letters. "As much as I want to become someone completely different from Riku," RR states. "And as much as I hated how the Organization treated me, I owe them both. Vexen gave me life, and I was based on Riku, so without either of them, I wouldn't be here right now. Therefore, my new name will show will be the one sign of gratitude I can offer them."

RR spins the letter around like a mini-cyclone and then places his hand in the center of the circle, causing the letters to stop, all while placing an additional letter, an enormous X, in the middle. With the letter arranged differently before, plus the addition of the X, instead of R-I-K-U, the letter now read…

"My new name is…Kixur."

And there you have it, folks! Took me a long, LONG time, but it was worth it. All of my stories are in need of updating, but seeing as how this one has climbed to the top of the polls, I made this one my priority for the moment. I definitely made it clear in this chapter a certain pairing I'll using, though seeing as how romance is NOT the main element of this story, don't expect much, especially this early on. I have two other pairings in mind, but seeing as how I'm not really anywhere towards bringing those characters into the mix, I don't see a point in revealing them just yet.

I know updates have been slow, but surprisingly, it's my own head that's been the biggest contributor to the problem. I keep having ideas for fanfics bounce into my head every five minutes, and some of them are so closely related, I don't know what to do with all. This must be how George Gershwin felt.

Anyway, I think what I need is a partner, someone to take some of my many ideas of my hands, for I refuse to let them die when I haven't even given them life yet. Only SOME ideas I'm willing to do this for, though, so you'll have to ask if you want to know. Anyway, thanks for reading and please leave some reviews!


End file.
